Folding tablet arm for chair

ABSTRACT

A TABLET ARM IS PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON A CHANNEL HINGE WHICH IN TURN IS CONNECTED BY LINK MEMBERS TO A FIXED BRACKET CARRIER BY A CHAIR SUPPORT BAR, THE LINK MEMBERS CONTROLLING THE MOVEMENT OF THE HINGE TO A LOWER FOLDED POSITION AND TO AN UPPER TABLET ARM SUPPORT POSITION WHILE BRACING AND LOCKING THE HINGE IN THE SUPPORT POSITION.

MarchZ, 1971 A. L. VAN RYN 3,557,277 FOLDING TABLET ARM FOR CHAIR Fiied Sept. 24, 1969 z Sheets-Sheet} l N VEN TOR Arthur L. Wm y" BY @aurwmcjliitow, F

/ ATTOR N E YS March 2, 1971 I A. VAN RYN 1,567,277

' I FOLDING TABLET ARM'FOR CHAIR F'iled Sep t. 24, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet z INVENTOR Arthur L. Van Ryn BY cZLZto-rv,

and) 6 ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,567,277 FOLDING TABLET ARM FOR CHAIR Arthur L. Van Ryn, Grand Rapids, Mich., assignor to American Seating Company, Grand Rapids, Mich. Filed Sept. 24, 1969, Ser. No. 860,487 Int. Cl. A47c 39/00 US. Cl. 297-162 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A tablet arm is pivotally mounted on a channel hinge which in turn is connected by link members to a fixed bracket carried by a chair support bar, the link members controlling the movement of the hinge to a lower folded position and to an upper tablet arm support position while bracing and locking the hinge in the support position.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY Tablet arms supported upon chair tube or bar supports have presented problems of wear, tilting, finger-pinching, etc., but generally the greatest problem has been to provide a rigid locking or bracing of the arm in use position while permitting an even and quiet movement to storing position.

I have discovered that by the use of linkage connections and channel bracket and hinge members, it is possi ble to provide bracing and locking means, giving an extremely rigid support for the tablet arm while also boxing in or enclosing moving parts to eliminate injury hazard. A channel link not only has a web portion serving as an enclosure when the parts are in use position but also extending diagonally to brace the hinge support for the tablet arm in such position.

DRAWINGS 'In the accompanying drawings, FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the chair with the tablet arm in the use position; FIG. 2, a similar view of the chair with the tablet arm raised as the first step in the folding operation of the tablet arm; BIG. 3, a similar perspective view of the chair with the tablet arm completely folded out of the way; FIG. 4, a side view in elevation of the tablet arm in position for use showing the side opposite that shown in FIG. 3; FIG. 5, an exploded view of the tablet arm support mechanism, the rivets and screws being omitted; FIG. 6, a broken front view in elevation of the mechanism in the folded position, as in FIG. 3; FIG. 7, a broken right side View of the mechanism, as in FIG. 4, but on a larger scale to show the fitting together of the parts; and FIG. 8, a broken front view of the mechanism with the tablet arm in the position for use, as in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the illustration given, designates a chair having a tablet arm support tube or bar 11 supporting a folding mechanism indicated generally by the numeral 12, which mechanism holds a tablet arm 13.

Referring more particularly to FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 8, the support tube 11 is flattened at 14 and welded or otherwise attached to the web inside surface 15 of the bracket member 16.

The bracket 16 is channel-shaped and has its web portion 15 curved inwardly at the top 17 to serve as a finger guard. The outer flanges 18 and 19 are flared out at the bottom extremity at 20 and 21 for the attachment of the brace link 22 at the lower holes 23 and 24. The center holes or openings 25 and 26 are for the attachment of intermediate links 27 and 28 at holes 29 and 30.

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The top extremities or projections are in the form of stops 31 and 32.

The channel-shaped brace 22 serves as a link between the lower portion of the bracket 16 and the upper end 33 of the hinge 34 at holes 35 and 36 in the brace 22 and holes 37 and 38 of the hinge 34. The opposite holes 39 and 40 are employed with rivets to attach the hinge 34 to the links 27 and 38 at holes 41 and 42.

The hinge 34 is also channel-shaped having forwardlyextending side walls and with the upper end 43 closed for added rigidity and safety. The center portion 44 has a pivot hole 45 for attaching the hinge 34 to the tablet arm plate 46 at hole 47 by means of a bolt and nut 48. Concentrically located with these holes is a circular or arcuate depression 49 in the hinge 34 and emboss 50 in the plate 46. The emboss 50 travels in the circular depression 49 a total of 180. At one extreme the table arm stops as in FIG. 2, while at the other extreme the tablet arm stops as in FIG. 3. Beside the circular depression 49 are the two openings 51 and 52 where the lower ends 53 and 54 coincide with stops 55 and 56 in plate 46 and against which the stops 31 and 32 of bracket 16 strike, as shown in FIG. 8.

The stopping surfaces produce a rigid stopping lock for the movement of the tablet arm.

The plate 46 is attached to the tablet arm 13 with flat head screws in holes 57. A finger-pinch hazard is avoided by the increased surfaces 58 of brace member 22 and the wide surfaces 60 of the links 27 and 28, as can best be seen in FIG. 8. These enlarged surfaces close the openings and provide a box or housing about the moving parts within the mechanism.

In the operation of the structure, the tablet arm may be moved from stored position to use position by only two movements, namely, a revolving of the tablet arm upward and a lowering of it into the position for use. In the use position, the stops 31 and 32 extending through openings 51 and 52 and into engagement with the stops 55 and 56 in plate 46 bring about a rigid locking of the structure. In this position, the brace link 22 forms a triangle with the hinge and bracket and holds the tablet arm in a level position even when extreme weight is applied to the tablet arm. The emboss in the plate 46 at each end of its travel strikes the ends of the circular depression 49 to provide a definite limit to the travel of the tablet arm and prevents tilting or irregular movement developing during such action. By equipping the bracket, hinge and brace link 22 with telescoping side flanges and closures, the structure remains in closed, box-like condition in both stored and use positions.

While in the foregoing specification I have set out the structure in considerable detail for the purpose of illustrating an embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that such details may be varied widely by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a chair bar support, a bracket fixed to said support, a hinge member, a tablet arm pivotally mounted on said hinge member, a brace link pivotally connected at one end to said bracket and at the other end to said hinge member, and intermediate links connecting said bracket to said hinge and cooperating with said brace link for folding said hinge member downwardly when said tablet arm is being moved to stored position and for folding said hinge member into horizontal support position when said arm is moved to use position.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which said brace link extends angularly between a lower portion of said bracket and a forward portion of said hinge member to brace said hinge when the tablet arms is in use position.

3. The structure of claim 2 in which said brace link is channeled and has a web closing the bottom of said hinge member in said use position.

4. The structure of claim 1 in which said hinge member is provided with side flanges and with a top closure.

5. The structure of claim 1 in which said tablet arm is provided with a fixed plate pivotally connected to said hinge member and said plate and member are provided with interlocking means for limiting the rotation of said tablet arm about said pivot.

6. The structure of claim 5 in which said bracket is provided with stop means adapted to be engaged through openings in said hinge member with stop means on said plate.

7. The structure of claim 1 in which said bracket has forwardly-extending side walls and a web therebetween and a top closure between said side walls.

8. In combination, a bracket having forwardly-extending side walls a brace link having side walls telescoping with said bracket side Walls, a hinge member having side walls enclosing said bracket and link side walls, pivot means connecting said brace link and said hinge member, intermediate links connecting said bracket and said hinge member, and a tablet arm pivotally mounted upon said hinge member, said link connections causing said hinge member to fold downwardly when said tablet arm is moved in one direction and to a horizontal position when said tablet arm is moved in another direction.

9. The structure of claim 8 in which said hinge member, bracket and brace link form a substantially triangular box when said tablet arm is in use position.

10. The structure of claim 8 in which said bracket and said hinge have top closures extending between the side walls thereof.

11. The structure of claim 8 in which said tablet arm is provided with a plate having a boss thereon and engaging an arcuate depression in said hinge member for limiting swinging movement of said tablet arm.

12. The structure of claim 1 in which said bracket has an upper extension and said plate has a stop engageable with said extension.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,786,515 3/1957 Clarin 297-160X 3,284,132 11/1966 Chapman et al. 297-417X 3,292,972 12/ 1966 Krueger 297162 FOREIGN PATENTS 691,641 7/1964 Canada 297-162 JAMES T. MCCALL, Primary Examiner 

